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NHL Picks

NHL Picks: Thursday's Top Hockey Plays

A busy night of action means that the NHL handicappers at SBR Forum have plenty to pick from. Where have they decided to look with their sports picks this evening?

Thursday’s NHL card features 10 games and we’ve got
predictions on five of them. Read on below for three previews and picks, and
we’ve got individual articles up to analyze the Washington-Boston and Pittsburgh-San
Jose showdowns.

The Kings are a team that’s picking up steam and you’ll
want to keep them in mind for your sports picks until we see something change.
They’ve won five straight and made a big move at the trade deadline, acquiring
Marian Gaborik to help their offense. It’s a sign that management backs this
team to win now. Unfortunately, the Jets did not get a similar vote of
confidence as they were idle at the deadline.

Winnipeg has played well under Paul Maurice, beating the
teams who are around .500 or better. They still struggle against the league’s
best, and that’s what the Kings are right now.

Pick: Kings -116
at BetOnline

[gameodds]7/257523/?r-1=43-19-349/us[/gameodds]

St. Louis Blues vs. Nashville Predators

Normally, I don’t like to lay a ton of juice with my NHL
picks but the Blues at -140 make sense here. There’s the general assumption
going around that the Preds can be competitive now that Pekka Rinne is back but
this is a team that has a bunch of flaws. It wasn’t all goaltending.

St. Louis has won two straight since acquiring Ryan
Miller and I expect them to keep on rolling. They’ve won seven of their last
eight against Nashville, averaging 3.9 goals per game in their wins. They own
the Preds and should take care of business again.

Pick: Blues -139
at BetMarathon

[gameodds]7/257527/?r-1=43-19-349/us[/gameodds]

Montreal Canadiens
vs. Phoenix Coyotes

The Canadiens turned out to be buyers at the trade
deadline and that should give the team’s confidence a boost. They’ve been a
top-four team in the Eastern Conference so far and if Thomas Vanek can give
their offense a boost, the Habs might emerge as a dark horse.

In this game in particular, look for the Habs to play
with some fire after management went out and got them some help at the
deadline. They’re a road dog on the NHL odds and they look like good value here
against a Coyotes team that’s dropped four of five.